aespa first concert SYNK:Hyper line a two-night stint at Seoul

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Aespa is an international pop phenom and million-sellers whose concept is as real as it is fantastical. They exist as both real-life idols and cyberpunk heroines, with digital avatars algorithmically created from their data.

Kwangya, an intermediary metaverse character at the centre of Aespa's story, is a place where anything is possible; it's a place where you can exist outside of the confines of the real world, for better or worse. Karina describes their members (pronounced like "eye") as their best friends, culled from their online identities and personal data.

They were deep in preparation for their very first concert, SYNK: Hyper Line — a two-night stint at Seoul's Jamsil Arena. Karina, Giselle, Winter, Ningning, and Aespa are all trainees under SM Entertainment. The standard idol trainee system is a difficult crash course in singing, dancing, rapping, and social media etiquette. Ningning, the youngest member, trained for five years before debuting with Aespa in November 2020.

The training period is an opportunity for artists to grow individually as artists, where they work on their skills and develop certain assets. Karina is often called an all-rounder or an idol who's proficient across all disciplines, which is why K-pop is such a phenomenon. Giselle, Ningning, and Winter were all drawn to the entertainment industry at an early age. Giselle was born in Seoul and attended an international school in Tokyo, where she excelled in the arts. Ningning competed in the second season of China's Got Talent at eight years old and became part of SM's pre-debut trainee team. Winter was inspired by a kindergarten crush on Kwon Sang Woo and her fascination with people on stage.

Photo Source: Google Image

Winter's piercing vocals and cold expressions make her fascinating to watch. She can be both "Salty and Sweet." Karina played three instruments in middle school and was inspired by Girls' Generation's "Into the New World" in 2007. She now performs alongside Girls' Generation members Taeyeon and Hyoyeon as a part of SM's rotational girl group, Girls on Top, with WINTER. She sees idols as a beautiful illusion, but also a reality of being online in the 21st century, where we spend four to five hours a day on our devices.

Their English single "Life's Too Short" grapples with social media toxicity, with Giselle singing, "Some people are so mean, all behind a phone screen." It is a rare moment of vulnerability from a group. Aespa has become one of the leading girl groups of their generation after their hit single "Next Level" topped the charts in South Korea in 2021 and catapulted them to global fame.

Their follow-up, the No. 1 single "Savage," cemented them as unstoppable, powered by an addictive refrain, a hyperpop dance break, and Winter's now-iconic "Oh my gosh, don't you know I'm a savage?" Their Savage EP sold more than 1.42 million units in its first week alone. They broke their own record with 2022's Girls, which cracked the Billboard 200 and delivered "Illusion," a potent pre-release track that builds on the group's bold sonic identity and penchant for sticky, hypnotic hooks. Their success transcends the charts, as their faces are all over sheet masks, makeup products, outerwear, fine jewellery, sneakers, and finance apps.

Last fall, they attended Paris Fashion Week on behalf of the brand, and Gisele describes the "surreal" experience as a turning point. The relationship between an artist and their fans is unlike any other bond, and aespa is expanding their reach even further into the future frontier of fashion with their new digital capsule collection. The capsule collection is a partnership among luxury e-commerce platform The Dematerialized, PAPER, SM Entertainment, and Warner Music Group, and it is radicalising how people interact with their clothes. In the metaverse, designs aren't limited by fabrics and physics, and people can express themselves however they want.